As Fort Lauderdale airport grows, so do hassles for neighbors, motorists

(Courtesy Broward County…)

July 21, 2012|By Ken Kaye, Sun Sentinel

Airport expansion might help meet future demands but for now it's creating hassles for thousands of residents and motorists.

For at least the next year, drivers on Interstate 95 will be dodging trucks delivering dirt toFort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport— 980 times a day — for the south runway project.

Beginning Monday, motorists also will have to wait a few more minutes at rail crossings between Fort Lauderdale and centralMiami-Dade County, because two extra trains per day will haul fill material to the airport.

Meanwhile, people living near the airport will be dealing with dust and noise, as 25,000 tons of dirt are unloaded each day.

"We're building a runway, and there are going to be regional impacts," said Greg Meyer, spokesman for the Fort Lauderdale airport. "We're doing what we can to minimize them."

Slow-moving trucks

The main problem: A fleet of fully loaded, slower-moving trucks will commingle with traffic on I-95, arriving from Pompano Beach north of the airport and central Miami-Dade County to the south.

Those from the north will connect with Interstate 595 and take U.S. 1 to Griffin Road. From the south, they will exit at Griffin Road and aim east to the construction site.

Meyer recommended motorists enter the airport by taking I-95 to I-595, and then heading east to the main airport entrance.

"If they do that, they shouldn't have that much contact with these trucks," he said.

The trucks started making runs to the airport two weeks ago from two rock pits: White Rock Quarries inMiami-Dade Countyand from a quarry in the Palm-Aire condominium complex in Pompano Beach, operated by The Ryan Companies.

U.S. 1 to be a mess

In addition to the runway project, construction on an Eller Drive bridge into Port Everglades is causing headaches for those driving north on U.S. 1 near the airport. The Eller Drive project is to be completed in late 2013 or early 2014.

By the end of the year, the stretch of U.S. 1 between Griffin Road and State Road 84 will be difficult to navigate in both directions. Lanes will be shifted as work is done to extend the runway over that highway.

"This is going to be an exciting area for next year or so," said Barbara Kelleher, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Transportation.

Two extra trains

While they shouldn't create major traffic problems, two additional trains on the Florida East Coast Railroad tracks will force motorists to wait at rail crossings, mainly in south Broward and north Miami-Dade counties.

The trains will run between the CEMEX Inc. rock quarry in Medley and the airport. After arriving at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International, the trains will take a special 2-mile spur to the construction site.

By using trains, more than 600 truckloads will be kept off the roads, preventing even more congestion and emissions, officials say. The trains will be less than half as long as regular freight trains, and one of them will make its run in the middle of the night, said Bob Ledoux, FEC vice president.

"It really will take a heavy burden of dump trucks off I-95," he said.

Dealing with dust and noise

For 20 hours a day, people living nearest the airport will listen to trucks and trains come and go, as well as special machines to scoop dirt out of the trains. They also must endure dust and exhaust.

"We have to live with this construction dust for two years," said Dania Beach City Commissioner Anne Castro, a resident of Melaleuca Gardens, just south of the airport. "You don't think it's going to affect my 11-year-old son, when he's playing hoops in the driveway?"

Runway to meet demands

In all, trucks and trains will deliver 7 million cubic yards of dirt, enough to fill 7,777 average-sized backyard swimming pools. Most of it will be used to build a gentle slope, allowing the 8,000-foot runway to extend over U.S. 1.

"Ultimately, we'll pave on top of it for the runway surface," said Kelly Fredericks, senior vice president of The Corradino Group, and the runway project manager.

The $1.24 billion project, scheduled to be completed in September 2014, is intended to allow the airport to operate more safely and efficiently, as well as enhance the region's tourism and economy, airport officials said.

"It's to meet our future demands for capacity," Meyer said. "We'll end up with two commercial runways."